Category: Beaver-themed merchandise

These are unusual beaver-themed designed merchandise we like. Some of the items have been donated to Worth A Dam, and some we just hope they will be soon.

Father’s Day good news

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? June 18, 2017

Well what do you know, folks are finally getting around to opening the memo on beaver benefits to trout. Do you think this came as a shock? Now I dearly wish this had been reported in Wisconsin, but hey, North Carolina isn’t bad either.

Beaver ponds actually keep the water cooler, study says

Now scientists and conservationists realize that beavers and the dams they make across streams have a lot of benefits. Most recently a study showed that the big pools of water backed up by beaver dams actually help keep the water cool, and cool water is important to a lot of different types of fish like native trout, steelhead and salmon.

To figure this out, scientists built fake beaver dams and recorded the water temperatures. Although it would seem like a pool of slow-moving water would get warmer, this study found that the water actually was cooler. Why would that be? One reason was there was more and deeper water backed up by the dams. What’s more, the big pools of water seem to help feed water that’s in the ground which also circulates back to the surface, keeping the creeks cool.

Knowing that beavers can play an important role in nature, humans are now putting beavers back in wild places. The Forest Service hauled beavers on horseback into Buffalo Fork Creek, which flows into Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar River. Idaho game biologists dropped parachuted beaver in cages into a remote wilderness area in the 1950s.

Lot’s of generous gifts this week. Starting with a wonderful collection of puppets from Folkmanis which include some delightful hedgehogs, an english badger, a wild-toothed crocodile and a delightfully soft white dog. Thank you a million times over puppet wizards for supporting our beavers since the very, very beginning.

And a wonderful donation from San Francisco author Mary Ellen Hannibal with a fine copy of her recent book where people like us do remarkable things for wildlife.

“For me the most compelling reason to do citizen science is the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals currently underway. In the book I do a lot of reporting and research on this scourge, but contextualize what’s happening within a broad framework. “Extreme citizen science” often focuses on indigenous traditions for caring for the land, and I learn a great deal from the Amah Mutsun tribal band. I take great inspiration from three literary figures who contributed to citizen science—John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, and Joseph Campbell. While the hero’s journey as discerned by Campbell needs updating for dealing with today’s global issues, he still provides a model for aggregating individual efforts on behalf of nature to achieve collective impact. That’s the job of the citizen scientist.”

The book is signed. Mary has also been a supporter of the Martinez Beavers since the beginning, and I am grateful that she will continue to encourage citizen science by donating it for the festival.

Of course the beaver problem isn’t extinction, it’s depredation. But I’m sure she’s working on that book next. Thanks Mary!

Finishing the Last of the Mohican’s last night, I thought of my own dad with this quote by the affable, skilled and boyishly cheerful Hawkeye,

“Think of me sometimes when on a lucky trail, and depend on it, boy, whether there be one heaven or two, there is a path in the other world by which honest men may come together again.”

A Sunday of good news

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise June 11, 2017

No falling pianos so far, and I’m pretty happy about it. Today is going to be a great day to get everyone up to date on all the beaver good news for the week.

One not quite beaver-related piece of good news is that I enrolled in the Jane Goodall master class on conservation as an early birthday present. How exciting does this sound? 26 video lectures and a host of smart classmates to connect with. It starts in the fall and I’m sure I’ll be soo much better at saving beavers when it does. If you’re interested in being my classmate go here to register: It costs less than a latte a class, so I’m pretty sure we can afford it.

The second piece of fun news comes from Sara Aycock who donated so generously to the silent auction the framed pictures of her charming Victorian animal characters. The book is nearer to launch and looks wonderful. It even is introduced with a quote from John Muir! Not to mention the illustration of our very favorite character, Mr. Beaverton.

If you cannot wait until the silent auction and must have some of her charming artwork in your home right NOW, I don’t blame you. We could barely resist ripping the ancestors off the hallway wall and replacing them with her donations! Go to her etsy shop here and browse the wonders.

More good news in the form of a much-beloved donation from Safari West. Their package includes the irresistible dinner at the Africa-inspired lodge and overnight for two in one of their luxury tents surrounded by wildlife that you aren’t used to hearing amid the stunning oaks, breakfast at the lodge and a jeep safari to see their glorious wild wonders the following day. Safari West is one of the most sought after items in our auction, and with very good reason. You will not forget even a single moment of your trip there. And at a value over 500 dollars, you should be highly motivated to outbid your neighbors. We are SO grateful for their wonderful support.

Safari West is a huge supporter of conservation, run by enormously good people who have always been big supporters of beavers. Their glorious retreat is the experience of a lifetime. Truly.

Extra, Extra! Read all about the beaver good news!

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured, Festival, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? June 4, 2017

There’s great news from three nations today just in time for our Suday funnies. First there’s the fantastic announcement that Frances Backhouse (author of Once they were Hats) will be doing a lecture in 2 weeks for idea city (which is the canadian equivalent of TED talks). If you live near Toronto and have a spare 300 you might consider being in the audience. Us poor California folks will have to wait for the vide0,

Award-winning Canadian author Frances Backhouse is a former biologist whose curiosity about the world enticed her into a writing career. Her 2015 book Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver, was heralded by The Globe and Mail as one of the “20 books you’ll be reading – and talking about – for the rest of the year.”

Speaking the morning of Friday, June 16th – buy your tickets now!

Frances was kind enough to donate another copy of her beloved book for our silent auction, and we are eager to see how the dynamic ideacity event success. Hopefully it will remind folks, like Glynnis talk back in the day, that beavers really matter.

Lots of good work in this country too, where beaver friend and Geology Student Erin Poor just posted about the project she’s working on in tualatin. Remind me again, how many people were talking about the Pros and Cons of Urban beaver before Martinez and Worth A Dam? Oh that’s right. Zero!

Beavers are known as environmental engineers because of their ability to change the landscape to fit their needs. Beaver activity, such as dam building, can increase stream and floodplain complexity, which may create a more diverse habitat for wildlife in the area.

Many scientists are curious to discover how beavers affect impaired urban streams. The USGS recently began studying the effect of beaver populations on urban streams in Tualatin River basin, located in the Portland, OR, metropolitan area. Scientists are studying whether beaver activity can improve the health of city streams. Insights from this study will provide a good foundation of the “pros and cons” of beavers in urban areas, thereby allowing local agencies to make management decisions based on science. This research is a collaboration between the USGS Oregon Water Science Center and Clean Water Services of Washington County, Oregon.

Tualatin_beaver_study_WithinOurReachPoster_2016

Bring back beavers to fight flooding and pollution, expert claims

Further proof that one person can make a difference? Here’s a slapdash beaver article from one of the silly English rags that will steal any story and photo off the internet and call it ‘news’. Case in point? How about my photo that I mocked up before Brexit? This was on USA news today along with an assortment of dimly related beaver images from around the globe, including the shop lifting beaver at Christmas in Maryland. Never mind, at least folks are talking about it.

We have some wonderful new auction items to mention this fine sunday morning, and I’m thinking we should start with Jennifer Lovett’s smart book for teens and tweens “Beavers away“. It’s a great way to look at the issue and she does an excellent job talking about the importance of beaver to biodiversity. I especially like this graphic. I met Jennifer on the beaver management forum on Facebook set up by Mike Callahan in Massachusetts. (It’s a good place to hear about beaver work and if you aren’t a member you should be.) She is a big supporter of all things beaver and became a good beaver buddy.

Thanks Jennifer!

Beavers-Away

Finally we have a much anticipated donation from Marcella Henkles in Corvalis Oregon. You will remember she was the amazing raku tile artist who featured two lovely beaver tiles to the Beaver tales art exhibit both of which sold almost immediately. I’m sure she was surprised to hear from me begging at her door but she generously agreed to send me one of the works she had recently fired. The complex technique demands carving the image on wet clay then glazing it into color. You really have to see it in person to understand how the colors, textures and rough barn wood all work together. It’s gorgeous. Doesn’t this need to be on your wall immediately?

best henkle — Beaver with Aspen Raku Tile: Marcella Henkles

And just because beavers like to look their Sunday best, here’s a fun video from Robin of Napa showing some excellent back footed grooming.

A tail in two cities

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Festival May 28, 2017

It’s sunday and we have only good news to share with you today here at beaver central. Our beaver-buddy from New Hampshire took a video this week of on of his beavers tail-slapping again and again in the middle of the afternoon. He was wondering why it happened at all and I suggested there might have been a threat we never saw, like an otter sniffing in the lodge opening or something.

I remembered one morning a million years ago when I saw an otter on our old beaver lodge an then saw a beaver react by tail slapping NINETEEN times. (I happened to count because I kept thinking, wow, I should try and film that, but I guess I missed it and am too late. But he generously kept slapping ONE more time, which I finally managed to film.)

Art was interested in my thoughts, and did a lovely job slowing the video down so you could see what is actually involved in a tail slap. This was just filmed with his phone but is great quality, check it out.

There are all kinds of donations to the silent auction today and for the first time I am nearly all caught up writing the bid sheets for display. There are fun things to share and surprising ones that we never saw in the past, like two tickets for Napa Valley Wine Trains gourmet dinner seating. Who knows, if you play your cards right I might be able to get Rusty to show you around the Napatopia beaver habitat on the way!

Jon and I did this years ago and were so impressed. The ride through the vineywards up and back is glorious and the meal was delicious. It’s a great way to identify places you might like to go tasting later. But my favorite winery to pass is always the hillside retreat at Far Niente, which isn’t open to the public for tasting. I have always asked for a donation before but never been granted tickets in the past. We were lucky this time. I can’t help thinking that this time has something to do with my reading up on some local history and reminding them how Martinez was once the home of the Christian Brother’s (1879-1930) which moved to Napa and whose huge castle-like grounds eventually became the Culinary Institute. Martinez and Napa are practically cousins! Anyway, the pitch worked. Go watch the welcome promo which for some reason I can’t embed here and try and tell me that you aren’t dying to see for yourself.

Another treasure comes from Sparkhead Kids in Ontario Canada. One look and you will immediately understand why I had to ask owner Annellie Samuel to donate. This velveteen pillow cover presents “Felix the friendly beaver” and is gloriously soft to the touch but tough enough to stand up to many, many nap times. In fact you might just want to snuggle with him yourself.

We are a small artist run husband and wife team that designs and produces all our product in Canada
We are inspired by the Great North American Wilderness, its beauty and all the magnificent animals that live in it. Our goal is to bring the outdoors to inside of your home and create a positive message of our environment.
Our animal characters are there to amuse and have you fall in love with and to stay your friend for many years to come.

Her charming website has both cushions and prints and whimsically writes about him:

“You will soon fall in love with our Felix the Friendly Beaver, Velveteen, Cushion Cover. Designed in Canada, this original art is perfect for your woodland nursery or bedroom decor.

“Hi! I’m Felix the Friendly Beaver! Have you ever seen a real beaver? I have a special, flat tail, which I use to steer when I’m swimming. When there is danger, I warn other beavers by slapping my tail on the water to make a loud noise. I also have strong, sharp teeth for cutting down trees to make my home from mud and branches in the middle of a lake. My house even has underwater tunnels! Come and be a busy beaver with me!”

Artfully done

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Mike Callahan May 21, 2017

It’s Sunday, and there’s so much good news to share I’ll be choosy and just show you the very best for now. First there is a nice article following Mike Callahan’s beaver presentation Smyrski Farm owned by the Weatinoge Land Trust.

Robert Miller: The return of beavers to Connecticut

Maybe the fierce-eyed bald eagle is the national symbo, but beavers — those social, endlessly industrious homebodies — fired the exploration of North America more than any other creature. To get their pelts, traders and trappers moved across the continent years ahead of any settlers.

“They make drastic changes to the landscape,” said Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions, a Massachusetts-based company dedicated to helping beavers and humans peacefully coexist. “Usually for the better.”

As with the other large mammals that have found the state to their liking — white-tailed deer, black bear, coyote — humans now have to learn to live with beaver. Gone from Connecticut for at least a century and a half, they’re back in force, slapping tails, damming streams, sometimes flooding back yards.

“Native Americans called them ‘little people’ because other than humans, no other animal changes the environment so much,” Callahan said.

When beavers build a dam, that makes a pond. That makes an open habitat in the middle of the woods, where aquatic plants, fish, waterfowl, muskrat and mink can all thrive.

“They’re really great at creating an awesome heterogeneous landscape with lots of biodiversity,” said Mike Jastremski, watershed conservation director for the Housatonic Valley Association.

Beaver ponds help regulate downstream flooding with the newly created wetlands soaking up rain water like a giant sponge.

After a time, when the beavers vacate the premises, the dam deteriorates, the pond flows away, and you’ve got a new habitat — a woodland meadow. A new set of species adapts to that. Eventually, when that meadows grows back to woods, beavers can return.

Callahan now makes his living installing systems to let people and beavers coexist. The only other option is trapping and killing them. There are too many beavers in the state to relocate them.

“They used to move them to somewhere else,” Josephson of the Naromi Land Trust said. “Now, there is nowhere else.”

“They’re sort of like mice,” said Marge Josephson, president of the Naromi Land Trust in Sherman. “If you see one mouse in your house, it means you’ve got a lot of mice. If you see one beaver, you’ve got more than one.”

Hurray for Mike, traveling between states to spread the beaver gospel with other land trusts. Clearly Mr. Jamstremski did his homework on the topic and understands why all this all matters. We’re not so sure about Marge (who needs politely reminding that its not generally a good idea to remind listeners that beavers are like mice in their house!)

Sheesh!

My mailbox has been ringing with donations all week for our silent auction at the beaver festival, but I’m going to start with the watercolor prints by Robert Mancini of Melbourne Australia.

He is a truly talented artist that works to capture the natural world with his prodigious gift. I still can’t believe how generous he was with us. Obviously his beaver painting got my attention first, but I was thrilled to see the many others he included, of which these are just a sample., all signed and on quality paper. Go look at his website to see how talented he truly is. Thank you Rob, for your generous support of beavers!